Best of 2005

It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for me to peruse my year’s work, and pick my favorite sites of 2005. As broadband connectivity has become more widespread, online multimedia has increased, and all of this year’s sites make good use of it. Before jumping into the list, I want to pass on one last link that just arrived in my mailbox this morning: It’s a Wonderful Internet.

This PBS site has got both style and substance. Visit for the great articles (such as the biography and a exploration of Galileo's telescope) but stay for the fun interactives, which include animated recreations of several of Galileo's most famous experiments. "A young Galileo is perched atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He is in the middle of his famous experiment the one in which he shows, by dropping cannonballs of different weights, that all objects fall at the same rate. It's the kind of story that's easy to imagine, easy to remember, but whether he ever performed the experiment at the tower is debatable."

Be sure to have your speakers on when you enter the Official Gershwin Website. Best reason to visit is the Jukebox stocked with samples of forty Gershwin songs from "An American in Paris" to "A Woman is a Sometime Thing." Other great clicks are the illustrated biographies, multimedia timeline, and the film and CD anthology. "While today they [the Gershwin brothers] are best remembered for their individual song hits, their greatest achievement may have been the elevation of musical comedy to an American art form."

Physics 2000 is a collection of more than sixty interactive applets and lessons demonstrating a variety of physics principles for high-school students and adults. I've always wanted to understand quantum mechanics (at least on a rudimentary level), so I immediately clicked on Quantum Atom (look under Science Trek) and found lots to learn and absorb. If you are looking for something specific, try the Table of Contents.

"Take a stand. Lend a hand. Stop bullying now!" SBN is a production of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The best reasons to visit are the twelve animated webisodes. "Watch how bullying affects different characters, and how they learn to deal with it. Maybe they can help you too!" Other goodies are eleven interactive games, and a handful of downloadable PDF guides for teachers, parents and organizations wanting to mount a local anti-bullying campaign.